pan and scan

American  

[pan uhn skan] / ˈpæn ən ˈskæn /

noun

Television.

1. a technique for changing the aspect ratio of a wide-screen film, usually by selecting the significant section of each film frame and cropping the sides, so that it can be transmitted in 4:3 aspect ratio.

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Other Word Forms

• pan-and-scan adjective

Etymology

Origin of pan and scan

First recorded in 1980–85; pan ² ( def. ), scan ( def. 6 )

Example Sentences

In the 1970s, widescreen films would be shown cropped at either side to fit the small screen – the "pan and scan" approach – but often not at the beginning and the end, weirdly.

From The Guardian

There was nothing but great music married with talking heads, pan and scan of old photographs and get to the creeks at sunset.

From Time